Hundreds march in Chicago to denounce white supremacist rally in Charlottesville

Several hundred people joined a rally at Trump Tower on Aug. 13, 2017, to protest the weekend's white nationalist rally and the violence it sparked in Charlottesville, Va.

(Chicago Tribune)

A day after street battles at a white supremacist demonstration in Virginia led to the death of a 32-year-old woman, hundreds converged on downtown Chicago to denounce hate groups and slam President Donald Trump's handling of the violence.

About 400 people gathered at Millennium Park and stopped traffic at times Sunday afternoon as they marched north to sidewalks across the Chicago River from Trump Tower, one of multiple similar marches that unfolded across the U.S. over the weekend.

The Chicago protesters chanted and carried signs with slogans and images blasting Trump and members of his administration. The president has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum for not specifically condemning white nationalists and neo-Nazis in a speech Saturday after their gathering in Charlottesville, Va., spun out of control.

Some left protest marches in Chicago's suburbs to meet up with those attending larger rallies in the city. Mary Edly-Allen was part of the Indivisible Lake County group that gathered in Libertyville earlier Sunday and then took the train to join those in Millennium Park.

"Staying home wasn't an option today," Edly-Allen said. "I feel like it's my responsibility as a white person to be out here."

Edly-Allen waved a large sign that read, "United we stand in love, Divided we fall by hate" on one side and, "Dear racist, who taught you how to hate?" on the other. The mother of four said it's up to everyone to start having "some really tough conversations" to combat racism.

Many who gathered here said they were thinking of the woman killed Saturday when a car was driven through a crowd that was protesting the demonstration of white supremacists. Some carried signs picturing the woman, Heather Heyer and one of the last messages she apparently left on social media before heading to Charlottesville: "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."

A day after street battles at a white supremacist demonstration in Virginia led to the death of a 32-year-old woman, hundreds converged on downtown Chicago to denounce hate groups and slam President Donald Trump's handling of the violence. There were marches and rallies in Millennium Park, on Wacker Drive across from Trump Tower and Federal Plaza. (Nancy Stone, Alexandra Wimley, Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune)

A day after street battles at a white supremacist demonstration in Virginia led to the death of a 32-year-old woman, hundreds converged on downtown Chicago to denounce hate groups and slam President Donald Trump's handling of the violence. There were marches and rallies in Millennium Park, on Wacker Drive across from Trump Tower and Federal Plaza. (Nancy Stone, Alexandra Wimley, Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune)

Nineteen others were injured in the incident. Authorities identified the driver of the car as 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr., of Ohio, and charged him with second-degree murder, as the U.S. Department of Justice announced a federal civil rights investigation.

"As a mom, I thought about the mom this morning who is waking up to the news that her 32-year-old daughter was run over at a rally trying to be against hate," Edly-Allen said.

Kate Mauldin of Chicago leaned with her sign near a sidewalk where Chicago police officers were keeping protesters from crossing the river to the foot of Trump Tower. Traffic moved on Wacker Drive once protesters passed, and Chicago police said no arrests were made.

"My grandpa fought Nazis so I wouldn't have to," Mauldin's sign read. She said both of her grandfathers fought in World War II, including one who was a sharpshooter in the European theater.

"I can't imagine what they would think today," she said. Some of the racist groups that descended on Charlottesville carried flags with swastikas and shouted Nazi slogans.

Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

People rally in solidarity outside Trump Tower in Chicago on Aug. 13, 2017, after a white nationalist attacked demonstrators the previous day in Charlottesville, Va.

People rally in solidarity outside Trump Tower in Chicago on Aug. 13, 2017, after a white nationalist attacked demonstrators the previous day in Charlottesville, Va.

(Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Organizers got word of the Chicago march out across social media and set up a microphone to allow speakers to urge the crowd to stay engaged on social issues and continue to appear at marches.

Ted Sirota of the group Refuse Facism said for many protesters, Charlottesville adds a new sense of urgency to a struggle they see as moving well beyond their disappointments at the voting booth.

"People realize this is turning into a life-or-death situation," Sirota said, as another protester held a sign with a large image of Heyer's face nearby.

"Obviously this is something that has really touched a nerve — it could be this generation's Kent State," he said, referencing the 1970 shooting of four student protesters of the Vietnam war by members of the Ohio National Guard.

Many in the crowd said they have become outraged by what they see as Trump's coddling of white supremacist organizations and his supporters in their ranks. As he addressed the Virginia situation at a separate event Saturday, the president condemned what had occurred, but used the phrase "violence on many sides."

Carol McKinny of Libertyville said she was especially appalled Trump did not specifically denounce the KKK, white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups for their ideology and said she blamed him for instead giving fuel to their message. The weekend in Charlottesville had started with white supremacist marchers carrying torches through the town.

"What Trump said about all sides is crazy. There are just two sides — there's evil, and there's good," said McKinny, who said she was marching for those persecuted or belittled for the color of their skin, their religion, sex or sexual orientation.

"We can't normalize hate," she said.

Cherie Jones Das, 64, said this is her fourth rally in Chicago and that she used to protest the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

"I just could not believe what was happening in Charlottesville. We are moving backwards in time," she said. "An older woman had a sign up that said, 'I can't believe I'm protesting the same old (expletive),' and that's exactly how I feel."

Gabe Popovich, 39, brought his 5-year-old daughter, Vivian, to the rally in Millennium Park. She had made a colorful sign that read "All people are good," surrounded by peace signs and hearts.

Near the Chicago River, surprised tourists snapped photos of marchers and held up their cellphones to capture video of the scene, all with the giant "TRUMP" sign on the blue-silver tower in the background.

At the microphone, speakers urged those gathered to remember Heyer's name as they stood up to hate.

"She just went to do what we're doing right now," one said.

Chicago Tribune's Jeff Coen contributed.

Nereida Moreno is a Chicago Tribune reporter; Yadira Sanchez Olson is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.